VIDEO: Firefighters rescue woman entangled by boa constrictor

SHEFFIELD LAKE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio woman called 911 in a panic Thursday afternoon with ample reason: A 5 1/2-foot long boa constrictor she had rescued a day earlier had wrapped itself around her neck, was biting her face and wouldn't let go.

The dispatcher sent firefighters and police to the woman's home in Sheffield Lake, a community about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Cleveland in Lorain County, but seemed stumped.

"I've never heard of this before," the dispatcher is heard saying in a recording of the woman's call.

Rescuers arrived within minutes and found the woman lying in the bloodied driveway of her home, the snake holding tight just as she described. A firefighter cut off the snake's head with a pocket knife and the 45-year-old woman, who hasn't been identified, was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.

The woman told the dispatcher during the call she had rescued two boa constrictors on Wednesday and that she owned nine ball pythons.